An airline and cruise payment gateway from eCom Pay is underwritten by experienced specialists who understand tickets sold months before departure, deposits and balances, and passengers paying from all over the world. Scheduled and charter airlines, cruise lines, yacht charter and marina operators are set up with card payments in 150+ currencies, settlement in 25+, and money landing the next working day with no rolling reserve.
24 hrs
approval, once documents are in
150+
currencies processed
4.5
Trustpilot rating
2010
processing payments since
By processing in the passenger's currency and settling in their own. eCom Pay processes in 150+ currencies and settles in 25+, so a passenger paying in euros or dollars is authorised cleanly and the carrier receives a consolidated settlement the next working day.
Tickets are paid for months before departure, sold through direct and agent channels, priced in many currencies and protected by licensing schemes. A generic account scores that as exposure and applies holds. Specialist underwriting assesses the operator you run instead.
Yes. Take a deposit at booking and collect the balance automatically before departure using saved cards through tokenisation, with smart retries so a failed balance payment does not become a cancelled booking.
Onboard spend and folio settlement run on terminals at the desk or on board and reconcile to the same merchant account as the booking, so cabin revenue and ticket revenue settle together the next working day.
No. Every eCom Pay merchant, including carriers with long forward books, is settled next working day with no rolling reserve. Securing those terms for booking led sectors is the reason the separate underwriting stage exists.
A direct application to a large acquirer is decided by an automated risk model that scores your category. Your file is one of thousands and the outcome makes little difference to the acquirer. eCom Pay is a separate underwriting stage that sits before the acquirer sees your application, where experienced people build the case for your business and secure the terms.
Next working day settlement and no rolling reserve. Every eCom Pay merchant, including those in high risk and specialist sectors, is settled the next working day with no reserve held back. That is the outcome the specialist underwriting stage exists to deliver, and it is written into your merchant agreement before you sign.
Yes, in most cases. A decline from an automated model tells you how the category was scored, not whether your business is approvable. The application is built around your controls, documents and trading, presented properly to specialist acquiring, and approved in 24 hours once your documents are in.
On this page Why this sector is different · The setup · How it works · Who we set up · Staying protected · FAQs
A ticket bought in January for a departure in August is the longest delivery gap in payments, and it is bought in whatever currency the passenger holds. An airline or cruise merchant account needs underwriting that understands advance ticketing.
Start your applicationMoney is taken months before departure, so automated risk models score the exposure and apply holds, reserves or extended settlement by default. Your specialist presents the schedule, the licensing and the protection arrangements as the controls they are.
International passengers, multiple currencies and cards issued in dozens of countries mean declines and conversion losses on a generic account. 150+ currencies processed and settlement in 25+ removes both.
A deposit at booking, a balance before departure and onboard or ancillary spend during the trip are three different payment moments. All three sit on one account with one settlement report.
Every application is reviewed by people who know that a licensed carrier or operator with proper passenger protection is a legitimate business with a long forward book. The account is built for the gap between booking and departure, for passengers in any currency, and for settlement that funds operations.
ATOL, ABTA, IATA membership, air operator or maritime certification and passenger protection arrangements are documented and presented as the controls they are, so the operator is assessed on how it protects passengers rather than on the forward book alone.
Process in 150+ currencies and settle in 25+, so a passenger paying in euros, dollars or dirhams is authorised cleanly and your reconciliation stays consolidated.
Next working day settlement with no rolling reserve means ticket and cabin revenue is in your account the following working day, paying fuel, crew, berths and slots on time.
Take a deposit at booking and collect the balance automatically before departure, with saved cards through tokenisation and smart retries so a failed balance never becomes a cancelled booking.
Booking engine and website checkout, agent and call centre payments on the virtual terminal, Pay by Link for balances and upgrades by email or WhatsApp, and terminals at the desk or on board.
Card testing and stolen card fraud follow recognisable patterns in ticketing. Risk rules built for the sector catch them without declining a family booking six months out.
Fair. So here is what UK merchants say after switching to eCom Pay, in their own words.
It was such a pleasure working with eCom Pay for my company, very straightforward to set up and the team were so helpful. No hidden fees, cost efficient, and from using other platforms before I can say this has been the best so far.
Verified merchantvia Trustpilot
We found eCom Pay to be a simple, efficient payment system to integrate, with a lot of support behind it. Would recommend them over competitors who charge far too much.
Verified merchantvia Trustpilot
Great customer service from eCom Pay. Needed a card reader for my business, they had me set up fast and gave me better rates than the last company. Highly recommend.
Verified merchantvia Trustpilot
Super impressed with eCom Pay. The transaction fees are competitive, and I love that my customers have multiple payment options, which has noticeably improved my sales.
Verified merchantvia Trustpilot
Good service from eCom Pay. The card machines are reliable and easy to use. I like that there are no hidden fees and everything is explained upfront.
Verified merchantvia Trustpilot
Would highly recommend. Easy, simple, and always answers when I need help. The best payment gateway I have come across, with a wide variety of packages available.
Verified merchantvia Trustpilot
A booking made months before departure and a cancellation on either side are where carrier disputes come from. The answer is a defence in four layers, built at setup, working on every booking.
The statement descriptor matches the carrier or brand the passenger booked with, so a payment taken months before departure is recognised on the statement rather than disputed.
Confirmations with acknowledged fare conditions, ticket numbers, itineraries and boarding records mean a disputed payment meets a documented record of what was sold and on what terms.
Dispute alerts flag a complaint before it hardens into a chargeback, giving your team the chance to rebook, credit or refund directly and keep the ratio clean through a disruption.
When a case is worth fighting, it is fought with evidence assembled by people who know what wins ticketing and cancellation disputes.
Selling packages as an agent rather than operating the departure? Start from the travel industry payment solutions page.
The gap between payment and departure is the longest in payments, bookings are international and multi currency, and a cancelled departure creates dispute exposure. Automated models score all three. Specialist underwriting assesses the operator you run instead.
Yes. Charter operators, private aviation, small carriers and boat charter businesses are approved when licensing and passenger protection are presented properly. Approval takes 24 hours once your documents are in.
Refunds and credits are issued from the same account, dispute alerts flag complaints early so passengers are resolved directly, and booking evidence supports representment where a chargeback is unfair. Disruption is planned for in the account design rather than handled after the fact.
Yes. A virtual terminal takes card details securely over the phone, Pay by Link sends a payment page by email or WhatsApp for balances and upgrades, and both settle on the same account as your booking engine.
Processing runs in 150+ currencies with settlement in 25+, with 3D Secure on every online payment, so international passengers pay in the currency they hold.
Substantially. Licensing and passenger protection arrangements are the strongest evidence a carrier or operator has, and presented properly they carry the application. Your specialist tells you exactly which documents to supply.
Terminals at the desk or on board, folio settlement and ancillary sales such as seats, bags, excursions and upgrades all sit on the same merchant account with one settlement report.
Approval takes 24 hours once your documents are in. Carrier applications carry more documentation than most, so the document gathering is the only real timeline, and your specialist guides you through it.
Experienced underwriters process your application with your licensing and passenger protection front and centre, approved in 24 hours once your documents are in, settled next working day with no reserve.
Selling packages as an agent? See travel industry payment solutions, or the full list of industries we approve.
AI answers can be wrong. For anything important, call 0345 548 0072.
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